Odds and ends of my youth
I was musing about what to write for the next article. Sometimes reality just does not want to get focused and productive. Ideas come and go. It takes the right combination of interest, thought and insight to capture a good idea and get it committed to paper.
Growing up in the fifties and sixties period has some advantages today's generations may not grasp. You were more in charge of your own imagination. Focused preprogramming was not yet a sophisticated art form to a specific population. Television was black and white if you had one. You could listen to radio or build a crystal radio from a mail-order kit. These worked great. They had an earpiece and a small dial. The electrical wiring in a building was the antenna. You clipped the antenna to the screw that held an electrical wall plate on. Reception was better at night. I took a class at MSU about radio and television where I learned about stratosphere skip. On most nights, especially in the early evening twilight range you could get reception of far away exotic stations, this added to the mystic of almost being a radio nerd. A station such as WHO in De Moines Iowa would broadcast down home crop prices and what is now called country music in the AM band. (Amplitude modulation of the radio wave). FM radio (frequency modulation) had not been developed yet. During that era, it was considered "Buck Rogers" technology anyway. Electrical ground wires were not routinely used in electrical wiring back then. The neutral wire did double duty as return and grounded from the electrical fuse box. That was a long ways back in time.
Not having thumb operated games or a texting capability was actually a plus. You could actually listen and use your imagination to build your own mental / vision of a scene. If that was too much excitement, you could always open a book and read. Talk about a mind-expanding habit, books took you to a new universe daily. Engaging neurons in a unique manner where it was hopefully a good positive interplay with your book. The only complaint I had about books was there were so many of them and not enough time to read them and do chores and homework. I used to find a way to extend reading time by getting out of bed and lay on the floor where the downstairs light would be reflected up. I had eyes of a youth then. I would be ecstatic when there were new batteries for the flashlight. I would made a blanket tent with my knees and read until battery or my own exhaustion, my mom would do a night check and made the light go out..
There was a gaggle of kids in my family. I had two sets of close cousins. My Dad's sister Aunt Joyce had four boys. They lived in Kalamazoo. My Mom's sister, Aunt Dee had four boys. There were five boys and two sisters in my family. I have an older sister and I was the oldest boy in our family. Those of you that put credence in birth order you can tell me what it means. I tell people I had an older sister and I wore hand me down's. It is a true statement. It does not factor in that I had older male cousins that were furnishing the duds.
We had marvelous times when all of the cousins would show up at our sixty-acre ranch. We would get the chores done; cows milked, pigs fed and calves fed so we could get in some football games or whatever sport season it was. There was always hunting and fishing to do in season. The area I grew up in had twenty-two lakes within a five-mile radius. We did not count ponds or small lakes unless they were larger than an acre. This is approximately the size of a football field. Three Legged Lake was the closest to us. It was about a quarter mile or for you track fans four hundred and forty yards. Winter or summer there was always either a rowboat on shore or a well-worn path on to the ice. Fresh caught fish are a real treat, once they are cleaned and cooked. A meal fit for royalty.
Hunting season brought relatives and our cousins to our property on a real regular basis. Thanksgiving Day would have them out hunting on both our property and neighboring parcels. We always asked permission of the landowners. Though they were few we honored declined hunting permission, some people dislike hunting. Neighbors respected other peoples choices back home or back then. When you grow up in a small community, you actually personally know individuals and all of the family members. The population of 471 is a lot smaller if you break it down to family units.
I trapped muskrats and used the money to pay for my deposit to Michigan State University. It was hard work checking the trap line. I used water sets and had to row around Muskrat Lake early in the morning before school. Please do not laugh when I tell you it took a long time to get the twenty-five dollars needed. Tuition when I started was a flat fee of $110.00 for a term of twelve weeks. There were three terms from September to June. To put things in perspective a Ford three quarter ton pick up 4x4 with an AM radio was $1,500.00.
Hillary Clinton referred to taking a whole village to raise a child. I think all children should be delegated age appropriate responsibility. Negative public or social behavior also is a responsibility to be shared by, child, family then community. There was a parent's network on party line phones reporting your activities prior to you getting home. Knowing consequences for your choices, helps mold a good adult. You need to understand Bloomingdale was so small people knew what you were going to do before you did it. Each generation thinks they are unique, but in reality, we are surprisingly similar. The current group has toys not even thought of by the older group.
During my youth, my parents kept expanding our development. They would increase liberties when you completed chores in the proper manner. There are sets of adult skills you pick up when you are designated jobs. When you are responsible for the care and nurturing of livestock, it develops maturity.
Husbandry of animals is an honor and privilege.
For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.
The outside of a pet is good for the inside of a human.